Building Creative Spaces ft. Vince Ricci | Coffeez for Closers with Joe Shalaby

0:00Some people dream of building a creative empire. Vince Ricci actually did it. From working with the biggest brands in the world to redefining what a creative space can be, he built Hubble Studios into a powerhouse for photography, fashion, and content. But success didn't happen overnight. It took hustle, vision, and knowing exactly how to sell creativity as a business. So how do you go from an idea to a multi-million dollar studio that brands and artists fight to work with. That's what we're breaking down today with the man himself, Vince Ricci. Creative, hustler, badass. Welcome to Coffees.

0:42Welcome, brother. That was some entry. I appreciate the patience and the retake. Vince, I'm blessed and honored to be sitting here with you in your beautiful studio, an incredible facility, and you're just such an incredible guy. Really, it's an absolute blessing to be sitting with you here right now. I like to start the show off with a general question I like to ask every founder that I get to sit with. What is Vince Ricci's morning routine? Oh, my morning routine. I wake up around 6.15. By 7.15, my wife's breaking my balls. Then it's the rest of the day after that. I'm joking with you. I wake up in the morning since we have a new child.

1:24We split our routine in the morning, but we wake the baby up together. So I wake up about 6.15, start getting ready at 7 on the dot. We go in and we wake our daughter together so that, you know, she gets very secure with the both of us. We wake up with positive energy. We go in smiling, super happy. She's happy, and she's excited to start the day. And then after that, I change the baby, dress her up. My wife gets time to change and get ready, and then we take a walk to the coffee shop together. We talk about whatever's going on that day, since my wife is the director of Hubble Studio, and we obviously work together.

2:02So we get to start the day. We're talking about what's planned for the rest of the day, things we need to address, hot topics, anything like that. We sit down, we have a cup of coffee, because the coffee shop's within walking distance of my house. I walk back, give my wife a kiss, and I give my daughter a kiss, and I head to work. Nice. I mean, that's a blessing to get the opportunity to work with your wife. And she's like not only your life partner, but pretty much your business partner. Yeah. So that dynamic is fluid. I mean, it seems like you guys rock in the same shoes. Yeah. You know, you guys are true best friends.

2:33Have a relationship I really admire. Yeah. Well, I pick what we wear. No, I'm joking. My wife's beautiful. So it's funny. When I first date, I asked her, how many sneakers do you have? She was like, you mean tennis shoes? She's like, I don't really wear tennis shoes. like that and i said oh that'll change and then you got them you wear them in a certain fashion i like that yeah you know shoes untied and yeah you know that's pretty cool thank you i think you know what it is because we call it a decade of culture here because we're behind the scenes of everything that's happening like just yesterday we were shooting represent it's a brand it's a super prominent brand from the uk that's in la now and they're doing a lot and we're so blessed to see what happens before it's happening that I felt like my interpretation of culture and fashion and art and design was what I was seeing before the whole world was seeing it yeah I'm talking to people getting to talk to directors producers designers creative directors art directors everybody directors of photography photographers videographers and understanding how to create a mind works and then with understanding that I was able to look in to that lens and then a reflection of myself and say well what do I like what do I want to take on and not manipulating what I seen for myself but creating my own style and running with that which is very simple so the things that I actually like and not usually what I wear because I dress very simple but knowing how to design for others knowing how to curate for others writing treatment for different companies because we really do see what the mood is getting set you know what trends are starting from typography the color color theory on set to everything and i mean it's been a lot of fun man you're at the forefront of everything from fashion to art to music i mean everything and that that all the you're you're like the hippest dad yeah oh man i can't i just now i'm saying to myself i'm a dad i'm like oh my god glad to be a dad of two i know yeah but you know maintain that level of relativity into their like 10s 12 when they're 15 and be like man my dad's a cultural icon yeah i actually ran into uh mike amiri the other day and i remember our first photo shoot here was when i first started and now he's literally probably one of the most relevant designer brands out there i think he just beat saint laurent in global sales and i seen him uh about last week having lunch i said damn like he told me how old this kids were because we talked about my daughter and i was like damn you're looking great and he was like you know consistency because we follow each other about the gym and i'm like you know this guy will always be relevant he'll always know what's going on he'll always stay ahead he's just got it you know and we have this whole era of tiktok and all these other new trends and tiktok dances and whatnot like we talked about the 11 year old to 20 year old relevance but then there's those those real shapers those real industry leaders that do set the tone for what's going on do you remember the scene in uh devil wears prada yeah with cerulean blue do you remember that scene no no remind me she uh she said well i'm not really into fashion she said but you are because you don't know why you bought that secondhand sweater but it was um who was it i forget the designer I don't know if somebody could tell me, but you guys don't remember either.

6:01But it was Bottega Veneta, somebody that set the tone the season before and then went down and went down and went down the line to the secondhand shop of why you're wearing that color. And these high-end people who do make decisions really do set the tone, and they're always going to be relevant, and fighting to stay there. Exactly. Now, what age did you start in the creative space? um I think I've always been inclined because I'm from the Bronx New York and you know just being from New York I feel like you were always led to have your own authentic style and being from like where hip-hop started where breakdancing started where all these other places started was so big you know music was so like relevant I remember being in the third grade and knowing what songs came out like I heard songs on the radio that day and I told my wife I was in the fourth grade when song came out.

6:51I was in sixth grade when the song came out. Like I remember specifically. And I don't know what it is with New Yorkers. Clinton Sparks was on the show last week and he's just still a relative. Yeah. You know Clinton Sparks. Yeah, of course. And did you know him from New York? No, no, no. So how did you get started in the creative space? Honestly, I feel like having a good style and being around a lot of creative people, people would always ask me, hey, would you want to come on as a consultant for this company? Do you want to come on and just Consult them from style perspective and I originally came out he had to help a company that was launching an apparel company Then being on set with a producer friend of mine And giving my advice which led to then being in the industry And then you took creative style and then converted just the creative style into entrepreneurship Which is pretty much like impossible to do.

7:43Yeah, I mean who's gonna say I'm gonna make money with my creativeness and then start like a of fashion empire? I mean, I think always having understanding fiduciary duty to a company, understanding the well-being of a company, and having to make good decisions and led me to be a good entrepreneur because I was able to balance out whether this was a good enough risk, whether I was risking other people's money when I was risking this, and then saying, hey, but always staying true to myself and saying, do I think this is relevant? Do I, would I buy this? You know, Tom Ford talks about it. He says, I'm my number one consumer.

8:21I'm cultured. I have disposable income. I understand what I like. And those are the people I target when I design for. Because once they buy, they're in. And then they lead other people to then come by. And they pay attention to what they're buying. So it's got to be curated. So the entry point from entrepreneurship and fashion, like when did that happen? Probably about 12 years ago.

8:48I was in LA and I started to realize that there were so many successful people that were launching brands that were doing things that Weren't even showing up on time They were like you don't got that New York grind. It's it's almost unbelievable Yeah, I'm like I don't even know how you survived this long let alone you're successful Yeah, you know, and then they would take money from people and raise money and do this and they didn't really care what was going to happen. And I would be like, it almost made me sick to my stomach. I'd be watching. I'm like, oh my God. And then you meet people like Dan, who's so authentic, Dan Fleshman, who we were talking about.

9:27And really Dan set the tone for a lot of things I was doing. I remember my first meeting with him. He was like, I got like 10 minutes. And then we started talking and he's like, you know what, just join me for dinner. And then he's like, a friend of mine's coming. And Steve Aoki walked in. And then a couple other guys walked in who were pretty well known. And then it's actually funny, my buddy who was just on a TV show at the Jersey Shore, my friend Ronnie, was coming to meet me. And I was like, thank God I got a guy who was coming that's a little famous. You know, I feel like I have a little presence in the room, you know?

9:58And Dan elevated everything I was doing. He made me believe that it was possible. So anytime I was doing something, I'm like, oh, I'm going to introduce you to this person. Oh, we're going to do this. Oh, let's do this. Through a friend of mine, Jeff, who was actually his barber at the time. So you met Dan Fleischman through a barber? Yeah. That's awesome. You didn't have to work that hard. No, thank God. And he's like, oh, I'm going to introduce this guy, Dan. He does a lot of stuff and blah, blah, blah. Then I knew who he was. And I was like, all right, cool. That's awesome. And that was literally Dan's been within text messages every day since then with me.

10:33What a blessing. And you met him through the barrier to entry to meet him for you was like, whoa, that was a godsend. Yeah. I mean, that guy ended up becoming pretty famous himself. The kid Jeff. Is that Barber? Yeah, ended up doing his own thing. He was a big influencer. He's a huge influencer. He does really well. That's awesome. Yeah. So what do you think some of the things that really distinguish Hubble Studios from other studios here in L.A.? Because are you the number one studio in L.A.? I think, I mean, I owe a lot to Milk Studios. We did a lot of work together in the beginning. they really let the forefront for the photo and film industry to create a culture.

11:10They created the culture in New York 30 years ago like nowhere else. It made it sexy. It made it fun. It made like showing up to somewhere you evoke the feeling inside of you when you showed up because you knew all this famous stuff had happened here. You knew these people were here. You knew these creative people came in. And it's like, you know, I would kind of imagine walking into the Oval Office of all the things that happened there. You know, not as serious as that, but, you know, on a different level. And I did a lot of work with Milk in the beginning, and they really helped me out. And then took my own ability to make people feel first class, make people feel seen.

11:47I talk about it like the Bellevue Hills Hotel. If anyone is ever fortunate enough to stay there, it's the best place in the world to stay because they are so loving, caring, considerate. You can't just go to Bellevue Hills Hotel and stroke a check and go? Yeah, I guess. You want to be invited? Yeah, no, I mean, fortunate enough where it's pretty expensive or whatever, you know what I mean? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, like anybody listening. Like, it's an experience because they're so attentive, and the hospitality is number one. So I think that what we separate ourselves is that we make everybody feel seen.

12:18And when you feel seen, you tend to be a little more vulnerable. Yeah. Then you're willing to open up. And when you're willing to open up, you're going to immerse a whole different creative side of yourself. You're willing to do things you're not going to want to do. Say you took an art class and there's a bunch of people in the class and you realize, like, wow, I'm the worst drawer in here. I'm the worst painter in here. It's cold. The music's too loud. No one's even paying attention to me. I wanted to draw something kind of crazy, but let me just stick to my stick figure sketch that I'm good at.

12:48You know what I mean? You're going to stick it to very limited stuff. And people feel like they're judging you or whatever. Or you walk in another class where they're really there to guide you and they're loving and they're open. and everyone's drinking wine, everyone's hanging out, then you're just going to draw whatever wild thing your imagination can come up with. That's essentially what we do here. We make you feel vulnerable to open up. And whatever crazy stuff that you want to do, we'll light it. We'll set it up. We'll produce it. We'll help you do everything you can to bring this imagination that you have to life.

13:21I love that you invoke vulnerability because that's truly how creation happens. and you know i'm in a space where there's not a lot of creation right like i'm one of the few big big creators in our industry the mortgage industry of financial industry and people like look at me like i'm crazy because i'm in a financial sector like the hell you doing creating yeah but creating brings a whole new element to a dynamic whatever it is whether it's boring or whether it's fashion you gotta be a creator but the financial space like there's not a lot of room for creators but like even for me i'm asking just for my own um from for my own development of creation like how are you invoking creation i think by making people feel seen they gotta feel seen they gotta feel loved and when and i don't want people to leave here with an impact that they were like oh they're egotistical or they're elite or they're you know when someone just like gives you that look they're like oh like you're like wasting their time we make everybody come in here and you don't know what they went on that day in their life you don't know how bad their morning was or who they just lost in their life that they loved and this could be the worst day of their life but you walk in here and when someone greets you with even a smile and they're willing to help you and they're willing to do this they're going to leave and say you know i just love the way they make me feel i love the way they make me feel seen and i want to create and i want to you know take this idea and cook it up and then toss it in the air and make it live on its own and people start to focus on that whether it was a video a song overlay a picture just a design and then that that inspires other people you know and it's got to be immersed from a feeling inside but that's got to be a human human connection and and that's why i care so much about that That's awesome.

15:13Now, there's a lot of people, young people, that want to get into the creative space. And, you know, obviously they have forces against them. What advice would you give to a young person right now who wants to get into the creative space? As much as it sounds crazy, you've got to care what people think. You do. It's not that you have to win over everybody or you just need to be an influencer, but you've got to care. If nobody likes what you're making, if you're not here to entertain or please anybody, nobody's going to really give a damn of what you're doing. You know what I mean? And you're not really impacting anybody else other than yourself.

15:53So you do got to care. And I think there's a certain level of authenticity, making sure you're not copying every single thing that's on TikTok, you know, and doing what you say you're going to do. So many people fall into this zone of like, oh, we have a tightly coupled company, which is a manufacturing company or something like that, or a loosely coupled company, which is a creative company, tech company, where we can kind of make our own decisions and do what we want. We have our own autonomy and our position. It's not so loosely coupled that nothing is together. You know what I mean? And they start to believe that it's that.

16:26It's so loose coupled, I don't need to show up on time. I could work remotely from Arizona or Nebraska for a job that's in New York City or wherever it is and I don't need to wake up on their schedule. You know, you still got to fall to some normality, some like some sort of schedule, some sort of thing where like you're dependable. Well, I could say, you know what? I can count on this person. They're very dependable. They do what they say they're going to do. They're accountable. Even though it's creativity, you still have to be accountable. and that's where you're starting to see the people who are super creative but they're dependable really succeeding and the people who are so artistic and out there and eccentric they're kind of becoming not relevant because you could just go to ai and make something crazy and not need somebody who's kind of a pain to deal with yeah you know what i mean that's what i would say i mean piggybacking on ai i have two questions to follow up is it is do you think ai is impacting the creative space to improve it, take away jobs, enhance it?

17:25What's your opinion on how AI is impacting your space? I think that it's getting rid of a lot in monotonous jobs. I think it's getting rid of a lot of jobs like that. People who just write copy of different writers and different things like that. I think that you're going to take somebody who's highly ambitious, who utilizes everything that's willing to keep being progressive and moving forward and paying attention to what's coming out and engineering in a forward perspective and they are gonna crush the world they're gonna do phenomenal because they're able to just put things together i had i was in a meeting in new york with uh somebody pretty big and the guy's a billionaire and he said all right write a proposal for that and uh write it off a letter call your lawyer write it off a letter right now i text my lawyer here and answer i'm like oh my god like i gotta to get this done right now while I'm in this office.

18:16Like, I cannot. I'm sitting out sweating. It was about a month ago. I texted my wife. I said, you need to go to AI right now to chat GBT, and I need a legally binding offer letter right now for this. And within three minutes, she had it back. It sounded amazing. I said, check your email. It's in there. Didn't impress the guy at all. Like, that was just what was needed to be done. That was a new requirement. Yeah, that was what needed to be done. Do I think that he thought I used AI? I highly doubt this 69 year old guy thought I was using AI but It got done and for all the people out there for other kids from the Bronx Or from here or from there that have a nothing if you got a chat GBT account you got everything You don't have to pay a lawyer.

18:59You don't gotta pay these you save 500 bucks right there Oh easily five hundred dollars in about three hours of annoying conversations Then my lawyer talks at a slow slow pace like three grand. Yeah, literally probably But for the people who use it, they're going to take over the world. Yeah, it's going to be a whole new world to see what our kids are going to do, what AI is going to do in the next couple of years. It's going to set the path of going from running a six-minute mile to running a three-minute mile. The person who's going to be ahead that could use it is going to be so far ahead. They're going to be able to outperform so much more.

19:39Yeah. Now, I want to ask this prior, but what mindset do you think one must have right now to win in this environment in the creative space? Killer. Execution. If you're not executing, you're not doing anything. People went from buying two shirts a year to two shirts a week. You know, it's completely different. That's just apparel. But the amount of content that needs to get put out is unbelievable. You just need to keep executing keep executing keep executing keep thinking it and don't don't gloat over your wins And don't worry about your losses. Just keep making keep creating keep moving forward and that's it And that's that's the mindset you need to have but that's exciting part Yeah, like if you're not creating it's like I was just thinking about it.

20:28I was listening to a Podcast yesterday about time. I moved to Montana and I said oh my god. I mean Montana is gonna be beautiful But there's nothing to create there for me. I need to be in the middle of it you know no matter how well i do new york you've always been in the middle of it yeah i love it yeah i mean now you're in la you're in the hub yeah literally hub well i mean i think new bronx is actually a might be in the same line league of creativity now yeah right because you also have a place in the bronx still yeah i own some buildings in the bronx and i still stay in new york when i'm there where in the city on 54th street i lived in 54th street i just moved out now I'm going to move downtown.

21:05And how does New York compare in terms of, like, the creative space to L.A.? I think that L.A.'s beautiful. The weather's beautiful. You know, they're both going through their own growing pains right now, I would say. But I think that New York, you just, when you show up, you know there's no time for nonsense. And people are there to work. Everybody in the world comes there because they want to succeed. It's like Hong Kong, New York, and London. I don't know why we don't have that grit here in LA. It's like New Yorkers cut from a different cloth. Every New Yorker I know out hustles anybody here in LA.

21:45I love hiring New Yorkers. I think you hold no punches. That's it. You tell how it is. Now, how do you balance the strong creative vision of all the different celebrities that are coming in here with what Hubbell Studios is distinctly known for. You got all these celebrities coming in here demanding this and that. I think because we're known, we're a blank canvas, and you could splash paint, lights, this, that, everything you want all over it, and then we just wipe it all clean and do it all over again. And we're here to create whatever you want. It's like going to the art store and buying a canvas.

22:24You don't know who's next Basquiat or who's going to create the next greatest thing. you know yeah but we're there to provide for you who are some of the biggest names that you've worked with that you like the most i think everybody's great yeah i mean dude it's harder not to like you though yeah you love everybody yeah i think i mean listen when people come here whether they're pissed off or whether they're you know they ignore someone's death whatever it is or they're great or they're pleasure to work with they're here to work and i understand that so i I take it with a grain of salt and I say, listen, we're here to help these people create.

23:00And you don't know where they're going through. There's a lot of celebrities that come in and they are so shy or they don't have makeup on and they make sure they don't want to be seen and they're insecure deep down inside but then when the camera turns on they're a whole different person. These people are their own human. You know, they still suffer from the human condition and they still, you know, have their own things that aggravate them, their own triggers. So none of that ever pisses me off or bothers me. I don't take it personal. So I genuinely love doing what I do so much that Good or bad, I think that everybody here is a creative and I respect them the same way and I like them kind of the same way Love that now congratulations are in order for you.

23:42You got a baby coming on the way And you already have one so you're gonna be a father of two Now one thing I've said this already repeatedly is I really admire your grit your hustle you've been like you know you've built a big organization very successful entrepreneur and you've been fortunate enough to be cut from a different cloth which is you know you didn't start this way now i'm also a father come from poor roots like yourself one thing that i always ask and this is good parenting you know advice for those listening and even for myself as a father is how are you going to instill that same level of grit that you have right now into your children.

24:26I think about this every day, the accountability. If I say no, it means no, without doing it, without yelling, and letting her fall and letting them get back up on their own. And the minute we start walking, we ain't crawling, we're back on our feet. It's like you do these things and you almost expect them, it's not really going to happen. but I kept saying back on your feet on your feet on your feet and she didn't crawl one day after the day she took her first step it's almost unbelievable and if I can continue that for the rest of her life and holding her to a higher level and she's Italian American and that means a lot and we're the last of a dying breed and we got to show up and you're also a man of faith yeah you making sure how you instill in that level of same faith I mean you got St.

25:17Mary on you yeah you know in this crazy world especially LA where you know the influences are next level you know to take away that you know that level of faith from your family I mean I grew up one way oh I'm Roman Catholic you know I mean and I feel like Italians take a lot of pride in that or Catholic really true believers my mother put it on myself when I was a little kid God is in your heart. Yeah, I mean, and people that don't possess religion, I'm not saying they're bad people at all, but you lose a certain level of integrity. Yeah. Like, you know, God's always watching. Well, I can't throw a straw wrapper on the ground.

25:59I know he's going to screw me later on today, so I'm going to pick it up. You know what I mean? Something's going to happen. I'm going to get a ticket or whatever. But when she starts to comprehend that, that God is always in your heart, then you've got to follow, you know? If you can't make it to the bathroom one time, you've got to pray to God that you make it there. Because you can't have that happen at work. You know what I mean? But every single thing. But even as silly as that, but you say, pray, and you ask God for his guidance and forgiveness. And it's just, I mean, the reason why I'm still here, I'm 38 years old.

26:28I had a long life. Yeah. And I'm just scratching the surface of being successful. And I thank God every day and ask him for guidance. And I think instilling that into my children. And whoever has something to say, that's great. That could be for them, but they ain't us. And so you're raising her Catholic, all the sacraments? 100%. She's baptized. Awesome. Yeah. Awesome. I mean, you know, we're fortunate enough to have all those sacraments, and I'm, you know, such a blessing. I feel like for people who don't have that, I almost don't understand. But I don't really spend a lot of time thinking about it because I'm not really concerned with what they're doing.

27:04I'm concerned with what I'm doing. God has sent me signs to show me he's there. You know, in my worst days, he was there. my best days that got he protected me and got me there and that's where my family will follow yeah i mean one of the biggest pillars right one of the biggest pillars um now do you have because it's a blank canvas here do you have any like restrictions or policies for like shoots or it's just a total blank slate every single time we charge a smoking fee for $1 ,500. Oh, there is? Yeah. But I also own a cannabis company. We gift some celebrities weed and tell them they're not allowed to smoke it yet.

27:44But if you give it to them, you charge them$1 ,500. Yeah, there you go. But if you smoke it, yeah, you gotta give me$1 ,500.

27:53So it vents out easy then. Yeah. We haven't vented out, but I tell people all the time, that's probably the number one thing, is because you don't want to leave something that intrudes on the next person that's coming in ability to yeah to create and when you smoke it smells yeah you know like weed session in here and then then then the church comes in after yeah sets up for Sunday yeah I got a charge 1500 a person not even one time a smoke a fee every time I catch it it's you know but we get to wave we wave that a lot but that's that's probably number one one of the number one things i'm pretty open-minded uh to most things but other than that nothing too crazy has crossed my mind that's happened people being disrespectful we had to shut it down a little bit yeah you know it's a beautiful facility so have you had anyone get really crazy these rappers get crazy or these celebrities absolutely yeah absolutely we had a we were doing a yg video shoot one time and i guess somebody was hooking up in the bathroom broke the sink off the counter And then it was probably about 1 o 'clock in the morning, and they called Tina to come in there.

29:04Tina had to go and look, and they were surrounded by all these people, and they said, Oh, we were just leaning on it. And she goes, it's pretty much somebody's butt marker still on the sink. Oh, my gosh. But he's a great guy. He's actually a super good guy. YG? Yeah, super cool, and I love having him back. And this is something my team wanted me to ask, but what's the craziest idea you've pitched here? It could be PG. If it's too crazy, you don't have to say it. But what's the craziest idea you've been pitched here at Apple Studios? Live porn. Oh, yeah. That was pretty nuts. I think I almost expected that answer.

29:46For Jarrett Leto's birthday party, album release party, they did a live porn, and they also wanted a 120-ton tank inside here, parked inside, and they were going to paint it. Like do just like a live pain the session a real tank and when it rolled up I couldn't believe it was a real like a huge army tank right here literally I was saying actually these cracks are because of that tank and I had just did the floor for a hundred thousand So I was pissed off about that. They discovered the build-up No, no, but and then they had right behind the tank was people behind the screen Screwing the whole time and I was like wow I was impressed they were going for hours but they were putting a hand on the screen people were touching me I was like this is pretty interesting there was a lot going on in like different directions you know wow yeah Jared Leto's crazy he's cool yeah that's a crazy idea a tank live form yeah we were here that night and they had a dunk tank and yeah they had Trump sitting on a thing and they were dunking on well that wasn't the real Trump but and I get up to do it and I'm looking around and there's nobody doing it.